Recently, abnormal occurrences in the Duel Links world have become more frequent, with things or scenes appearing in various parts of the Linked World maps that weren't supposed to according to the programmed settings.
Many duelists have captured these bizarre images and screenshots, posting them on forums, sparking heated discussions.
Of course, at this stage, it's just discussion, and no one has realized the danger within.
After all, in most people's eyes, no matter how realistic Duel Links might be, it's ultimately just a virtual world. Most duelists still think it's merely a simple online dueling platform, no different from other ordinary internet games.
Most people also do not understand the difference between the so-called "consciousness link" in the Duel Link System and ordinary internet games.
In Aigami's explanation, the entire world can be seen as based on the collective consciousness of living beings. The "Quantum Cube," which is the core of the Duel Link System's operation, is such a product—it can connect collective consciousness and also detach individuals from the collective.
It is precisely through the manipulation of thought consciousness that the Quantum Cube can influence the world itself from the space-time level.
So with the Duel Link System developed based on this foundation, and now with the Quantum Cube gradually losing stability, no one can say what abnormalities might occur.
The Kaiba Group has had more than one discussion on whether to suspend the operation of the Duel Link System, but due to insufficient evidence, it hasn't been shut down yet.
However, the omnipotent President Haima has already written a new program aimed at locking down all abnormal factors within the Duel Link System.
This happens to be the first run of this program.
After so many years of development, the current Duel Links is a very large-scale system, almost unimaginable in size, making a scan of such a large system very time-consuming.
At this moment, President Haima and Mokuba are at the control station, awaiting the scan results.
Mokuba waits while watching the live broadcast of the tournament at Duel Academy, frequently reacting in surprise and attracting his brother's attention.
"Wow, Youyu's Black Magic combo is powerful! You better be careful, big brother. Next time, you might get caught in the trap of 'Black Magician Array' and 'Chaos Magician' combo!"
"Eh, this Professor Cobra is amazing too! Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, unaffected by effects and can't be targeted, with attack power over six to seven thousand! Isn't that invincible!"
Kaiba sneered at the screen, dismissively saying, "Humph, mediocre. But that guy is not a duelist who can be defeated at this level."
Mokuba casually asked, "Then what do you think, what level would a duelist have to be to defeat Youyu?"
President Haima froze for a moment, then coldly snorted.
"I will not allow him to lose to anyone other than me!"
"Mm-hmm, that's true..."
After a while, Mokuba exclaimed again.
"Wow, the duel between Cosmic and Crystal Beast is quite interesting too."
Kaiba chuckled coldly, "Crystal Beast? Just cards with higher viewing value than practical use, he stands no chance."
In fact, President Haima didn't have any particular prejudice against Crystal Beast; it's mainly because Crystal Beast is a card deck made real from slabs dug up by the International Fantasy Society, while the Ultraman series used by Judai was designed by the Kaiba Group and specifically prepared for rocket launches into space.
If Judai loses, it would mean the Kaiba Group is inferior to the International Fantasy Society, wouldn't it?
That would never happen!
Kaiba squinted his eyes at the jellyfish-headed figure on the screen.
If you dare to lose here, you won't escape punishment!
...and neither will your master!
Thankfully, Judai easily won the match in the end, which pleased President Haima.
"No wonder he is Youyu's student; Judai is indeed strong now!" Mokuba giggled.
"Humph, mediocre."
The president spoke, recalling the unforgettable moment when he was beaten by the future jellyfish head during the first KC Cup.
Looking again at the little jellyfish head on the screen, the president suddenly felt a surge of card addiction, unable to suppress the urge to duel.
After the incident with Light of Destruction, he wondered if the jellyfish head had also grown, and maybe it was time to take action.
President Haima isn't that easy to deal with; with such a strong card addiction, there are only two opponents in the world that he finds worthy. A strong opponent is truly rare for him.
Thinking about it, suddenly an alarm sounded from the control station.
"Ah, we have a discovery!" Mokuba hurriedly leaned closer to the screen, "An abnormal factor has been found within the Duel Link! Someone has infiltrated into Duel Links through means outside our system!"
Kaiba narrowed his eyes, swiftly stood up, and with a sweep of his trench coat, strode towards the spacious dueling area beside him.
He activated the Duel Disc, with LED-like blue light spreading across his limbs and torso.
"Duel Link System, activate!"
The scene before Kaiba quickly shifted, with an ocean-like deep blue world rapidly occupying the entire world, engulfing his body.
...
Fudo Yusei rode his mount—the duel motorcycle known as "D-Wheel" in the future—slowly cruising through the city streets within the Virtual World.
He comes from the future, having traveled back through the barrier of time. Coming to his senses, he found himself in this virtual space.
"This is... Duel Links?"
Yusei looked around, taking in the highly realistic, vast, and incredible virtual world, feeling somewhat incredulous.
As a person from the future, he had only heard of the existence of the "Duel Links" system, but this was his first time personally logging into this legendary system.
After all, in his dueling era, the "Duel Links" system had already vanished from history.
"Anyone can duel freely in this world, people from any country, any region can become friends here..."
Yusei thought of something and suddenly felt a bit yearning.
Why must such an excellent system eventually disappear?
A sudden, unexpected tremor interrupted his thoughts. The ground of the Virtual World started to shake, and the road before him split open, creating a deep chasm.
He quickly turned the handlebars and braked sharply, with the D-Wheel screeching and narrowly stopping less than half a meter from the chasm.
The streetlights collapsed, with rubble falling, all shattering into 0s and 1s, dissolving into data streams within the virtual space.
"Here it comes again." Yusei thought.
This was the third time since he arrived in this space.
Perhaps the Duel Links technology of this era is still immature?
As he pondered, a figure suddenly swept across the sky. A white silhouette dove down, with the trench coat stretched taut by the gale like a cape, landing steadily before Yusei!
The owner of the Duel Link System, Kaiba Seto!
"I've finally found you." Kaiba Seto stood up coldly, speaking, "I don't know who you are or how you infiltrated my system.
But this ends now!"
Yusei: "..."